Quotation Q

Question

Ex1: They agreed that "crimes happen more in the slums."

Ex2: They agreed that, "Crimes happen more in the slums."

*A comma is added after that, and C is capitalized.

Ex3: They agreed that, "crimes happen more in the slums."

*Comma is added after "that."

Ex4: They agreed that "Crimes happen more in the slums"

*Notice the capitalization of C.

Usually: They agreed, "Crimes happen more in the slums."

I am aware that usually when a full sentence is being quoted, "that" is deleted and a comma takes place in its place (see "Usually"). But I wonder if any of the above examples (4) are acceptable in academic writing.

Thanks in advance.

Canadian45 · Accepted Answer

I would only say the following.

They agreed that "Crimes happen more in the slums."

It's close to your example 4, but I added the necessary period.

There is no need for a comma.

If you are not actually quoting exactly what they agreed on, just say 'They agreed that crimes happen more in the slums.'

Vcolts · Answer

I checked several sites on quotations and practically all of them show that you don't use a capital when you introduce it as a surbordinate (that clause). The period was a type issue.

Canadian45 · Answer

vcoltsI checked several sites on quotations and practically all of them show that you don't use a capital when you introduce it as a surbordinate (that clause). The period was a type issue.

But what if they agreed on that by both writing exactly 'Crimes happen more in the slums.'

If you then quote them, you have to quote exactly; you can't change the capital C to a lower case c.

Even if they agreed on that orally, you are still quoting them with a complete written sentence. And a complete sentence needs to begin with a capital letter and end with a period.

My thoughts on this are not the least bit influenced by the sites you checked. I am going by what makes sense.

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